Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh
The BJP will try to persuade Karuna Shukla, the niece of the party's iconic leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to reconsider her resignation. "Karuna
ji is a very senior leader and we are trying to talk to her and negotiate with her to come back," said Raman Singh, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, to NDTV.
Ms Shukla, 63, was a national vice-president of the BJP till she quit the party late last month after 30 years, alleging that she was "mentally tortured" and "continuously neglected" by senior leaders in Chhattisgarh, which votes on the 11th and 19th of this month for its next government.
Mr Singh is seeking a third consecutive term as chief minister of the state.
Ms Shukla was not given a ticket for the elections, but has said that played no part in her
decision to exit the BJP.
In the past, Ms Shukla has represented Chhattisgarh in Parliament.
She told reporters last week that she had spent five days trying to meet in Delhi with BJP president Rajnath Singh.
"I can understand that he can be busy but at least he should have replied to my phone calls," she said.